Artists lend a brush to flood victims

Ashoke Nag, ET BureauNov 18, 2008, 01.24am IST

KOLKATA: Auction house Saffronart's charity sale for Bihar and Orissa flood relief efforts has generated collections of around Rs 4 crore. As many as thirty-one of India's leading contemporary artists brought together by artists Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher have helped raise Rs 3.93 crore through the Artists Flood Relief Charity Auction.

Proceeds from the auction will be routed to Samajik Shaikshanik Vikas Kendra (SSVK) and Goonj to back their efforts to support flood relief work in eastern India. The top lots sold at the charity auction include Subodh Gupta (Untitled) for Rs 1.73 crore, Bharti Kher (This Way and Never Another Way) at Rs 84.52 lakh, Ranbir Kaleka (Man with Torch) at Rs 35.21 lakh and Riyas Komu (Uttara-II) for Rs 17.69 lakh.

At the same time, Thukral and Tagra (Somnium Genero-Canor 4,5,6) went for Rs 12.85 lakh, Hema Upadhyay (Untitled) Rs 9.86 lakh, Jitish Kallat (Untitled Herbarium) at Rs 8.45 lakh, while Bose Krishnamachari (Stretched Bodies) was picked up for Rs 8.31 lakh. In the same breath, a Shilpa Gupta (Untitled) saw a price of Rs 7.66 lakh and Chintan Upadhyay Rs 5.77 lakh.

"It was heartening to see people from across the world bidding to support a humane cause. We feel very privileged to have made a tangible contribution to help the flood victims. I am also very grateful to my fellow artists and our partners Saffronart, Nature Morte and Trident, Gurgaon who collaborated to make this auction a success," said Subodh Gupta.

Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart said, "We are delighted by the response to the charity auction from our clients around the world. The Rs 3.93 crore raised is very close to our total upper estimate for the auction. We deployed the auction on an international scale within a short period of time."

Auction proceeds, including buyers' premium, will benefit SSVK and Goonj for the urgent flood relief work required in eastern India before the winter sets in.